a museum before. Now two were aimed at his head.
‘On the floor,’ the cop barked. ‘Hands where I can see ’em.’
They ran up the stairs towards Dinesh, who was trying to stop himself shaking.
‘Don’t be frightened, son,’ the cop said. ‘Where’s your old man?’
Mr Singh opened the door of his study. The guns swung towards him.
‘Hands in the air.’
One of the plain-clothes cops bounded up the stairs. He pushed Mr Singh against the wall and locked on handcuffs.
‘You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say can be taken down and used in evidence against you …’
The armed cop looked down at Dinesh.
‘Who else is home?’
‘Nobody,’ Dinesh said.
‘Where’s your mum?’
‘Barcelona. She’s back tomorrow.’
‘How old are you?’
‘Twelve.’
‘We can’t leave you here on your own,’ the cop said. ‘You’ll have to come with us.’
*
A police car pulled up on the driveway. Dinesh looked nervous when Zara opened the door.
‘You don’t mind me staying, do you?’ Dinesh asked. ‘They asked me to think of somewhere I could go until Mum gets home. Kerry was the first person I thought of.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Zara said, putting her hand on Dinesh’s shoulder. ‘There are so many kids coming in and out of this house, one more won’t make any difference.’
The cop gave Zara a custody form to sign, while Dinesh wandered into the living-room. Kerry stood up and gave him a hug.
‘I’m so sorry about your dad,’ Kerry said.
‘I told you he was a crook,’ Dinesh said angrily. ‘It was bound to happen sooner or later.’ He looked at the duvets and pillows scattered around the living-room.
‘We couldn’t sleep,’ Kerry explained. ‘They had to take Nicole to the hospital.’
‘Is it serious?’
‘Kyle called from the hospital. They gave her an adrenalin shot to bring her round. Then they pumped her stomach.’
‘I saw that on TV once,’ Dinesh said. ‘It’s so nasty. They force a rubber tube down your throat and right down into your stomach.’
‘They’ll keep her in under observation for a few hours,’ James said. ‘But they reckon she’ll be OK.’
Dinesh managed a smile. ‘I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes when she gets home.’
It was gone 3 a.m. when a cab dropped Kyle home from the hospital. Zara told them all to go upstairs and try to get some rest. Dinesh slept on Nicole’s bed.
*
While the mission was going smoothly, Ewart had been acting calm, but when he shook James awake at eleven o’clock that Saturday morning, he looked rabid.
‘In the bathroom, now,’ Ewart barked.
‘Uh?’ James said, still half-asleep.
Ewart grabbed James by his wrist and practically dislocated his shoulder as he yanked him out of bed. He shoved James towards the bathroom, bolted the door and bundled him up to the wall.
‘We’ve got to keep the noise down while Dinesh is in the house,’ Ewart whispered. ‘But you better start giving me straight answers about last night, or I’m gonna make you sorry.’
‘I haven’t done anything,’ James said.
‘So what’s this then?’ Ewart asked, producing the metal straw that had come out of Junior’s cocaine. There were still specks of white powder stuck on one end.
‘It’s not mine,’ James said.
‘Liar,’ Ewart snarled. ‘I was checking inside the pockets before I put the washing on. It was in your jeans.’
James realised he must have pocketed it when Kelvin had surprised them.
‘I swear I never took coke,’ James said frantically. ‘That belongs to Junior. I must have picked it up by mistake.’
Ewart opened the medicine cabinet and took out a plastic sample bottle.
‘We’ll see, won’t we? I got three of these at the hospital last night,’ Ewart said. ‘Pee in that. I’m gonna have your, Kyle’s and Kerry’s urine samples tested and if there’s cocaine in there, you’ll be out on your arse with Nicole.’
James was pleased to see the sample bottle. The test would clear up any argument.
‘Give it here,’ he said, smirking confidently. ‘How much do you want to bet that I’m clean? Fifty quid, a hundred?’
‘Cut the smart mouth,’ Ewart said. ‘And piss.’
James angrily snatched the bottle off Ewart, flipped up the plastic lid and stood over the toilet. He was usually busting when he woke up, but he couldn’t go with Ewart standing behind him.
‘Can’t you wait outside?’ James asked.
‘You might tamper with it,’ Ewart said. ‘Try thinking about waterfalls or something.’
When he’d finished, James handed the bottle to Ewart.
‘Any money you like,’ he said cockily.
His air of confidence had taken the edge off Ewart’s anger. ‘Go back to your room and tell Kyle to get over here.’
After Kyle had gone,